"The best ringsters I ever saw" by the late, great boxing writer O. F. Snelling...

By O. F. Snelling

[It is a pleasure to reproduce this piece – penned by the late, great boxing writer O. F. Snelling – for a new, online, 21st-century audience. We do so with the kind permission of Derek O’Dell, Editor and Producer of ‘The Southern Ex-Boxer’, in which this article first appeared in 1998 – Ed.]

Although this periodical is entitled The Southern Ex-Boxer, and we tend to celebrate the deeds of those battlers of the past who hailed from ‘south of Watford’, as they say – and in particular the sterling scrappers of the South London and Croydon areas – the names and deeds of a few fighters from other areas do occasionally creep in.

It has been known for us to make mention of pugilists like Jack Hood, of Birmingham – one of the very best – and we've also dwelt upon those characters beloved by Geordieland's Ringwise. Oh boy, what a bunch they had, on Tyneside! Seaman Tommy Watson, Mickey Maguire, Benny Sharkey, Jack Casey, Jack London – and the great Billy Charlton, among others.

Most of these men were of world class! I kid you not! But, unfortunately, they dwelt in unsophisticated surroundings, and their managers, although capable enough, did not always carry the influence to negotiate their men into prestigious fights, and they lost out – with one or two notable exceptions.

As for the Scots – remember Tancy Lee, Elky Clark, Tommy Milligan and Benny Lynch – ensconced up there near the Arctic Circle? Milligan, then a little past his best, faced the great Maxie Rosenbloom, at that time claimant to the twelve-seven world title, when he came to London in June, 1928. Tommy knocked out ‘Slapsie Maxie’ in nine! You don't hear a lot about that one, but people do play up the occasion when Tommy bowed the knee to Mickey Walker at Olympia in 1927.

But I'm running away with myself. This is supposed to be a piece about the best I ever saw. Well, I saw plenty – believe me! The very first fighter I ever watched was the legendary Sam Minto, from under his corner in an Edmonton boxing-booth when I was a gullible kid, for which honour I had paid tuppence, and I didn't have the experience to know that I was watching a ‘gee’!

The last fights I saw ‘live’ I can't actually recall. These days I sit and watch them on TV – sometimes as they are waged or on video later – if I've recorded the events. Less and less I feel inclined to do so. The OFS at the age of 21 in 1937, who sat up until the small hours to hear the radio commentary of Farr's great battle with Louis would not now disturb his difficult efforts at slumber to get the ‘live’ outcome of the clash between David and Goliath.

Let's do this thing properly. I am not writing about the boxers I think were the best in their particular division. No, I am discussing those people I was fortunate in actually seeing perform, during my lifetime. I've been watching boxing for getting on for 70 years, now, and all of the fights I've seen ‘live’ have been in this country. So all of the boxers mentioned here are British.

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http://blog.boxinghistory.org.uk/2011/10/best-ringsters-i-ever-saw.html

Fascinating stuff and some names mentioned there that I'm not familiar with. Personally don't agree with all of the picks (where I can offer an informed opinion) but that's not really the point.

Cheers, Alex.

Glad you enjoyed it, Super. Snelling's one of my favourite boxing writers.

It's interesting that he's limited his selection to the fighters he saw live. I'd imagine Jimmy Wilde might have pipped Peter Kane on Snelling's list, had Snelling been old enough to have seen Wilde in action. But still, from the fighters he had seen, choosing Kane over Lynch is an unexpected one for me.

Who would your picks be?

Kane over Lynch was the big surprise for me, Alex and I'm not sure I follow the logic. My personal list would be:

Heavyweight - Lennox Lewis
Light heavy - John Conteh
Middleweight - Jock McAvoy
Welterweight - Ted "Kid" Lewis
Lightweight - Ken Buchanan
Featherweight - Jim Driscoll
Bantam - Dick Corbett
Flyweight - Jimmy Wilde

Certainly some fighters mentioned in the article who I want to have a look at. Have to confess that I've never heard of Arthur Danaher or Nel Tarleton and I think I need to have a closer look at Jack Peterson and Len Harvey.

Danahar was a stylish boxer and one of the best fighters never to win a British title.

Petersen had bags of skill for a heavyweight, but really, at around 13 stone, he was too small for that weight class. I imagine he'd absolutely dominate as a cruiserweight, though, if he were around today.

Nel Tarleton really was a great. I can never choose between him and Driscoll as to who I'd consider our best featherweight. And Seaman Tommy Watson can't be far behind them.

Len Harvey, I think, probably still stands out as our best ever light-heavy; I can't think of a better British fighter at 12 st. 7 lb.

I might give Teddy Baldock the nod over Dick Corbett at bantamweight. Corbett beat Baldock, but Baldock was then only a shadow of his former self. Baldock carried a very hard dig for a bantamweight, whereas Corbett lacked a KO punch. But then Corbett was a defensive master and got the better of another skilful, hard-hitting bantam called Johnny King in a series of title bouts. Baldock versus Corbett - both in their primes - would have been a mouth-watering prospect.

Ken Buchanan probably was our best lightweight, though I've seen some very clear footage of Eric Boon and he was one hell of a fighter. Another lightweight of that mould who would have given Buchanan a run for his money was Jack 'Kid' Berg.

I agree on Ted 'Kid' Lewis, Jimmy Wilde, Jock McAvoy and Lennox Lewis too.

Good list!

Cheers for the info, Alex.

I always think of Berg as a light welter and didn't think of him at lightweight. I agree that he would push Buchanan all the way at lightweight though. Would have been a fascinating clash of styles.

By way of an aside, Ken lives not too far from me and I see him now and again in my local Asda. It's a bit of a sorry sight and I can't help but think that his current plight is a sad loss to boxing in these shores - he must have a hell of a lot of knowledge that could be passed on.

Berg was a natural light-welterweight, but that weight class didn't exist in Britain during the '20s and '30s so he had to either take on welterweights or boil down to lightweight, and he chose the latter.

He campaigned in America, though, at 'junior welterweight' and won the world title at that weight. However, Britain didn't recognise it as a proper weight class. Odd situation for Berg.

It's a real shame to hear Ken's still in a bad way. He was a terrific boxer and, as you say, could pass on an enormous amount.

Lewis is Britains best heavyweights no doubt about it he is one of the best of all time i reckon only Ali would beat him

Waingro wrote:Lewis is Britains best heavyweights no doubt about it he is one of the best of all time i reckon only Ali would beat him

Plural?